NBA Finals 2019: Three takeaways from Warriors' Game 2 win over Raptors

The Golden State Warriors' win didn't come easy, but now it has a chance to take control in Game 3 at the Oracle Arena on Wednesday.

Golden State topped Toronto 109-104 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, levelling the series at 1-1.

The Warriors' win didn't come easy, but now it has a chance to take control at the Oracle Arena on Wednesday.

Here are three takeaways from Golden State's crucial victory:

 

The Warriors are sharing the ball

Golden State doubled Toronto's assist output, totaling 34 to the Raptors' 17.

READ| NBA Finals 2019: Warriors tops Raptors in Game 2 thanks to second-half surge

Four different Warriors recorded at least five assists in Sunday's contest. Draymond Green was just one assist away from notching his second consecutive triple-double of the championship series.

Injuries to Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney could make ball movement like this even more important for Golden State.

 

DeMarcus Cousins can be a positive

Entering the series, there were doubts Cousins could help the Warriors trend in the right direction.

The four-time All-Star hadn't played since tearing his quad in the first round of the playoffs as the NBA Finals approached. He logged just eight minutes in Game 1 and only managed to score three points.

However, Cousins unexpectedly tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes in Game 2. This is likely because of the injury to Looney, and he made the most of his opportunity.

Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, and Andre Iguodala became the first quartet of teammates with at least 5 PTS, 5 REB and 5 AST in a #NBAFinals game since New York's Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and Dick Barnett in 1970. @EliasSportspic.twitter.com/UygyTtD2dW

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 3, 2019

 

While he struggled with foul trouble early, he proved he can take on a heavier workload moving forward and not be too much of a defensive liability.

 

Toronto owned the offensive glass

While the Raptors blew their opportunity to go up 2-0 against the Warriors, they had plenty of chances to recover from their blunders.

Toronto totaled 15 offensive rebounds to Golden State's six, and quite a few came in critical moments down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard came up with five himself.

Bounces didn't go the right way for the Raptors this time, but capitalizing on second-chance opportunities could play a big part in how the series ends.